No Country for Kira
by RocketLouise
Summary: The Yagami family find themselves among the refugees in a mountain village in Gunma, as an unknown infection spreads, turning people into walking dead. A tragedy ensues, forcing Soichiro to request assistance from former comrades-in-arms. Meanwhile, Sayu Yagami experiences her awkward coming-of-age and the phantom of Kira lurks around the corner. Death Note & Zombies AU
1. Chapter 1

The moon gleamed from behind the clouds, piercing the crowns of the trees, reaching the forest floor. Light Yagami inhaled, catching the smell of pine needles and a faint trace of something else. It followed him like a breath on the back of his neck. He had known its significance only a few weeks, but it was enough to follow the drill. He leaned against a tree trunk in a crouch, a pistol directed towards the seemingly empty path. He knew some of _them_ liked to crawl.

Upon hearing a rustle, he held his breath. _Just an animal, something small_, he caught himself hoping, trying to remain as steady as possible. Something swished again in the darkness, closer this time, no movement visible. He clutched the weapon, waiting for the right moment. This was it. Feeling every step of the approaching creature, he began counting. Five meters. Four meters. Three.

A branch snapped.

He took a shot.

The sound was followed by silence, no thump of a body, no screaming, nothing.

Something materialized in front of him, two pieces of wood in its gangly digits.

Ryuk, damn him.

"Light-o! Wasting bullets I see!" the gun had been fired, no talking himself out of this. "Afraid of being eaten? Hyuk hyuk hyuk" the demon's laugh echoed like clatter.

"Easy for you to laugh, they can't see you. Or smell you" the adrenaline rush was fading away, Light could try to sound composed. "So I was protecting myself, big deal" he got up and started making his way through the bushes.

The grin on shinigami's face grew out of proportion. He wasn't going to let go.

"Fiiine, Light-o, fine. Since you're too shy to ask, perhaps I should warn you ahead next time? There isn't such a thing as too much protection. And if you have too little, you can get... _ Scared!_" he suddenly dropped to all fours. Light froze in shock, but was careful not to make a sound.

"I wasn't scared" there, he made him say this and it sounded silly. "By the way, I know it was you" Light took out a katana to remove small branches in his way.

"Ohhh, we have a _detective_ here" – Ryuk's head turned in a way which would make a healthy person's neck snap. It was equal to an impulsive display of emotions for his bendy, spiderlike silhouette. "I can't help it, this place is such a bore lately. If you used the note more often…"

"I told you I can't do it like this! There is no more than forty people in the area" Light cut neatly through a tangle of twigs "No national news either. Besides, aren't you happy with yesterday?"

"I guess…" - Ryuk scratched his head. "But how do you know you made an impact?"

"We'll learn soon enough. If not, I'm almost ready to make it out of here. Just don't do anything stupid, so I don't slip" they were back on a path they came from and Light could see the glow of flashlights ahead. Ryuk was jumping from tree to tree in his footsteps.

Light hated being pushed around by the shinigami, realizing gradually something needed to be done soon. In the last months Ryuk grew to remember the overwhelming boredom that brought them together. After all, three years passed from the moment Kira came to the attention of society and disappeared after the outbreak of _the disease_. The law as everyone knew it went to rack and ruin and its once eager enforcer was unable to make a move. They were stranded in a secluded area, movements controlled by the watchful community. While he had to sit and wait, Ryuk was growing restless.

He knew who he was, though. Buried himself somewhere deep inside to preserve what had driven him before, a beast in need of maintaining its conviction, the anger and pride raw and contagious to believers. This world needed him more than the previous one.

They were greeted by solemn expression of Soichiro Yagami, Light's father. The rest of the scouts had arrived already. A group of men from the village carried a variety of weapons, from precious firearms to machetes. Some of them wore kevlar, the others – leather armors or improvised pads.

"Report" Soichiro's ex-police manner took over. "I heard shooting."

"It was me" upon hearing Light's confession, Ryuk flipped triumphantly. Floating over Soichiro's head, he enjoyied the freedom to fool around coming with invisibility. "The north-east is clean, no dead around. No trace of Nomura-kun either."

"Fine. Don't waste bullets next time" Soichiro turned his attention to other members of the group, to listen to their their accounts, Ryuk mouthed "I told you so" in Light's direction. The young Yagami ground his teeth.

There was no news. On the third night, the search for Toshi Nomura lost momentum, the collective discomfort was aggravated by the discovery of his father's body the day before. Allegedly its state was improper for a funeral ceremony or cremation. Since the two disappeared together, the people quickly jumped to conclusions.

"Everyone, listen" Shota Toritsuka spoke. The low, deep voice of the man went in odd harmony with his bulky frame. "We can call it a night, but I am asking you to come back tomorrow. Toshi Nomura _must_ be found. Do it for the sake of Haruko, the girl has no one."

"What is the thing with Nomura? We never took more than three days with a search for anyone" a disgruntled voice lifted from the crowd, causing a few faint coughs. Light found himself thinking the man had a point.

"We still don't know what happened to Akinobu" said a short guy in the front, accusingly. "Yagami, you were supposed to be doing police work in here."

"No need to trouble yourself with my work, Shogi-san" the temperature of Soichiro's voice could make water freeze. "I've already come into contact with another officer, who will be investigating along. You're welcome to stick around if you want to examine the body." Mr. Shogi decided to drop the subject altogether.

"You can go, remember about reporting your presence at the southern entrance" the group dispersed while Toritsuka still spoke, occasional murmurs indicating disappointment with how the situation had resolved. Soon, Light, Soichiro and Toritsuka were alone among the trees. Soichiro looked at the young man, casting an unspoken question in the air between them.

"Dad" Light had been preparing for this moment all day. "It's soon, I know, but… I want to help! At least let me be there. I will stay out of the way!"

"Light…"

"I'm old enough for police academy! Let me work with you. Please. We need to take care of mom and Sayu together" he was in his element, the words spilled in perfect order, according to the plan. To his surprise, he couldn't sense resistance from his father.

"You didn't have to make a speech" Light closed his mouth, extinguishing the talk at the last moment. "You're right... I don't think I can spare you all this much longer. Well then, come on, let's go" there were moments when Soichiro seemed softer, more gentle. When he saw his father like this, something clenched within him to the extent of pain. _So sad. Old and weak._

They strolled deeper into the forest, Toritsuka leading the way. Light thought about the moment it all started, recalling the sight of someone else's back and being led through the Gunma countryside. Sayu didn't even manage to change from her school uniform.

He first saw the ropes stretched out between the trees, which seemed to serve as a boundary. And then the smell caught up to him.

"I forgot to tell you" Soichiro said. "Better find something to stick into your nose, it takes time to adjust."

Light spotted two guards, familiar faces from the village, heading their way, in the company of someone new. He recognized him too, although a white scar went through his right eye and he lost a lot of weight since they last saw each other. The curly hair remained the same.

"Thank you for coming at such a short notice, Aizawa" Soichiro nodded in the direction of the man.

"Chief Yagami" Shuichiro Aizawa used to be a member of homicide department along with Light's father. "Strange to think you were around all this time."

"Strange to think we're the only ones around. Are we the last men standing?"

"I heard Matsuda runs with the army" Aizawa chuckled. "It's good he can spend his rookie energy somewhere. Did you hear from Mogi or Ukita, by the way?"

"Not a word. I just pray I don't find them in a ditch one day" there was a time overcrowding was an issue, but the voracious appetite of the dead and territorial ambitions of self-proclaimed chieftains made the life expectancy optimal for the limited space in Kanto.

Soichiro took a step forward, to Aizawa's visible concern.

"Chief, one more thing,-" they already lifted the rope and were passing under. "We have a guest. I didn't invite the guy, just to be clear. He found me this morning and he followed me around,-"

"Aizawa, you were supposed to keep it a sec,-" Yagami froze at the sight of an elderly man in front of him.

Something in his appearance didn't seem right to Light. Maybe it was the contrast between the camo and the expensive-looking glasses he was wearing. Or the polite poise, too coherent to be genuine, given the military grade rifle he was holding.

"Why are you here, Watari-san?" Soichiro was his former, disciplined self on the outside, but Light knew this side of his father had disappeared three years ago, only resurfacing when he put on an act.

"I apologise for the intrusion, Mr. Yagami" his age wasn't obvious for Light anymore. The grey hair added to the impression, but his posture was strong in a way one could attribute to regular training. It was not accessible to many these days. "I assure you the developments in this neighborhood are of no concern of mine and you can count on my discretion in this matter,-"

"No concern of _yours?_ How about the concern of _his_?" Aizawa's irritation got the best of him. He couldn't handle seeming disloyal to Soichiro. "Is Ryuzaki too scared to come out of his hole, or he got eaten and you took over the business?"

"There are urgent issues needing Ryuzaki's undivided attention. But he has always held you in high regard, Mr. Aizawa, and of course we regret it is impossible for him to deliver this message in person."

"I'm pretty sure he couldn't find himself a hotel to stay. "

"Aizawa, let Watari talk" Soichiro made a gesture towards noticeably confused Toritsuka. "Mr. Toritsuka, this is another one of my former… partners. Watari, this is Shota Toritsuka, he represents the community we live in. We are on duty tonight, so make your case as quickly as possible."

"As you wish, Mr. Yagami. There has been… An incident. It concerns our common enemy, so to speak. The task force's assistance would be an asset in these hard times" as soon as Light heard "task force", his heart rate accelerated. It did not escape Ryuk's attention.

"He couldn't be talking about you, could he, Light-o?" he was hovering over Watari within the distance of centimeters. "It would be a shame if our little treat from yesterday put them back on track."

Light's mind was racing. Who the hell was this man? He knew Ryuk could be right, but he blamed recklessness on the pressure from the shinigami. Putting Light's name in the death note would mean his freedom from this world. And the longer Light didn't provide entertainment, the more of a possibility it became.

"I'm sure Ryuzaki has all the resources he needs. Why does he want us?" Soichiro picked up on Aizawa's mistrust.

"I cannot reveal details as of yet, unless you accept. However, I am allowed to offer a token of trust, no strings attached" Watari opened the travel bag he carried, revealing disposable gloves, surgical masks and plastic bags. "I believe you have a deceased who died in unclear circumstances. Allow us to run an autopsy in our compound. With you present."

"And you're going to take everything away from here?" Aizawa was not going to let go easy.

"No, Aizawa, this is not bad" Soichiro seemed convinced. "It's not like anyone has jurisdiction. Besides, have you seen the body?"

Aizawa shook his head, still angry.

"The thing is…" Soichiro made an inviting gesture towards the rest. "There isn't much left of a body to speak of."

They were walking again and the air grew thicker. Light covered his nose, unable to shed the sensation given by the smell, almost tasting it, the notes of must and grease.

"Three days ago, Akinobu and Toshi Nomura, father and son, took off in the early evening and didn't come back" Soichiro helped himself to a pair of gloves. "Haruko, Toshi's sister remained, so we threw together a search party. We made it up to here the first night. Didn't find anything."

Light saw what was scattered on the forest floor, right in front of them, in many large pieces. He could swear he saw a forearm and a foot. The flashlight illuminated the tree on his right. The trunk was stained, the pattern irregular and dark, almost black, the unbearable smell lifting Light's stomach to his throat. He spotted something red, soft and tangled below. In last trace of control he leaped to the side, to protect the scene from contamination.

"Oh... That's why there isn't any torso, hyuk hyuk" Ryuk took pleasure in humiliating him. "Looks domestic, I could use something like this at my place" he continued, as Light retched, his body convulsing. "There, there, Light-o, no need to stress out, it's not like you haven't killed anyone before."

"Hang in there, Light, I went through this too at some point" Aizawa was suddenly at his side, offering a tissue and a surgical mask. Ripping them them out of his hand, Light reminded himself to appear calm and grateful. After all, this _was _his first investigation.

"So yesterday we came back, after over twenty-four hours" Soichiro continued, umoved. "And we came back to this. You can find Akinobu's head to the north. Some parts have traces of clean cuts. Katana, possibly. We imagine the dead did the rest."

"Is it all… Mr. Nomura, dad?" Light decided to reverse the bad impression he made at all costs. His legs were a bit shaky, but the stomach seemed stable. He pressed the mask against his face with tenacity worthy of a better cause.

"We don't know. We're not in a position to create a timeline for the body either" his father started putting the pieces into the plastic bags. Toritsuka assisted him. "Took pictures the first night, though. Kept everything under guard. I guess we could use your help after all, Watari."

"Certainly. I am simply asking you to consider our offer in the meantime" Watari was picking up the packed remains and arranging them in the bag. "You will be free to negotiate the remuneration."

"Have it your way. But we'll see if you keep your word" Aizawa suddenly decided to take initiative and Soichiro didn't object.

"I will send someone to pick you up tomorrow. Preparations need to be made" Watari picked up the bag. "There is one more issue. We cannot give access to the task force's family members or outsiders. With all due respect, Mr. Toritsuka. These are all necessary precautions."

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Here it goes, the first catch."

Toritsuka wasn't content. "Are you sure about all this, Yagami?"

"Not at all" Soichiro looked at Watari disappearing between the trees. Once again, he seemed burdened and defeated. "But we need this. If I'm wrong, let me bear the consequences."

* * *

**Thank you for taking the time to read my work! **

**I will be greatly indebted to anyone who takes the time to drop a word and tells me how I can improve the story. **

**For now, I have learned that connecting to the characters is a bit hard at times (on occasion of Chapter 2), so I'll definitely be working on that. I want this to be primarily a thing about consequences of survival and defining one's role in the world, but not too gritty at the same time.**


	2. Chapter 2

„If they catch us, I'll take the blame" said the girl in the front seat, turning a screwdriver to expose the ignition switch.

"Hurry up" Sayu Yagami looked around, nervously. "Guards rotate in half an hour, everybody will know we're gone." The situation felt unreal and she found herself out of place. Another moment to realize the existence of deficiencies she never knew she had.

"Looting is technically stealing, you know" said a boy with delicate features struggling with the lock protecting the trunk.

"Have you seen any courts around here, Isobe? Do you think they'll arrest us?" the disheveled hair fell out of Haruko's ponytail, as she blocked the steering wheel with her bruise-covered knee. "I want to know what happened to dad and Toshi" she started removing the screws keeping the parts of the ignition switch together.

The group went silent. Haruko Nomura was one single reckless phrase from being driven over the edge. And they could only be there for her.

"Why don't we take a walk around and look for him?" Sayu mustered the courage to speak up. Haruko shook her head.

"He's not around here, I know it." Sayu exchanged looks with Kento Toritsuka who made a helpless gesture. "Hey! Toritsuka! What was that?" the screwdriver fell between the seats and in a second Haruko was next to him, fists clenched. She could act menacing, always unruly and a bit erratic. One-foot difference of height between her and Kento suddenly became negligible. Since the disappearance of Akinobu and Toshi her instability had significantly aggravated. "Say it!"

"It's okay, Haru" Toritsuka could not be intimidated. He put both hands on her arms, comfortingly. "We already said we're with you. Just share your plan, you kept us in the dark for so long."

"Stop treating me like a baby! You don't have to go if you don't want to!" the girl shook him off, offense in her voice, but crawled back into the car, looking for the missing screwdriver.

Finding the abandoned vehicle in the morning visibly changed Haruko's attitude. The bitterness and reproaches she harbored in the last days were tucked somewhere deep, to make room for a newly discovered resolve. This was expected, given the strong convictions the Nomuras held towards survival.

Akinobu Nomura lost his wife to the plague and had an obsession to protect his children from sharing her fate. Haruko and Toshi spent every day on rigid training, starting at dawn. Sayu would wake up to the sound of their steps, as they ran next to the window of the tiny room she shared with her mother.

Akinobu frightened her, he communicated with the world and with his children in a tone a breath away from an impatient growl. After a time, however, she began to feel envy towards Haruko. Although Sayu's own father was a gentleman who would willingly give his life to protect her, she felt invisible to him. In the last years he drifted away, their realities separated with a thick line. The feeling began to nibble at her when she remembered Light and Soichiro setting out on their first patrol together.

An audible snap announced Isobe was finished with the trunk. Sayu approached him with a stash of weapons they smuggled from one of Akinobu's hiding places.

"Oh god" Sayu cringed at the contents. "This is unsanitary."

"Somebody wanted to keep a trophy" Isobe looked away, taking the severed head by the hair with two fingers and tossing it aside. Sayu's stomach twitched lightly, but she took another glance out of curiosity.

"At least didn't belong to a human" a heavy duffel bag took the place of the head.

"And how exactly do you know, Yagami?" She picked a wrong person for bragging, he knew her too well.

"Dad told me if it's already dark but not gooey, it must have been a dead one. They only decompose up to a point." Saving face was always worth a try, so she shared something she heard Soichiro reveal to Light.

"Like your father would tell you anything of such sort" Taiki Isobe chuckled, closing the trunk.

She owed them gratitude, really. Haruko and Taiki rescued Sayu out of her sorry situation, going to great lengths to convince Mr. Yagami his _little girl_ belonged among other people and was bound to do certain things on her own, no matter the state of the world.

What Mr. Yagami didn't know was that Sayu wholeheartedly engaged herself in preparations to _become_ a part of the world in question.

At the sound of the engine, she fell to the passenger's seat, stretching her limbs. She was still a bit sore from yesterday's sparring. Haru-chan could not be matched in sword fighting. In fact, Sayu could not match her in anything requiring physical strength.

"So what's our plan?" she tried to engage, carefully filtering out every bit of doubt present in her tone.

"The Market" Haru looked to the back, making sure there was enough space for a turn. _How could she speak so indifferently?_ The Market was off-limits and they all knew it, but she didn't have to let it show.

"Alright" she said. "Never supposed I will be out there so soon" and she still didn't know if they would return in one piece.

"High time, Sayu-chan! What's your other option, an eternity within four walls and three kids with Toritsuka?" she squinted at the road, putting the gas pedal down.

"Eww, creepy! No offense, Toritsuka" Sayu flipped through the stash in the front and smiled upon a newly found packet of hard candies.

„Sayu would only want kids with Hideki Ryuga" he was clearly offended, resorting to her carefully guarded secret. A hit below the belt, but losing to Toritsuka would feel worse, so she had to own it.

"Don't be silly" as much as she could make sounds through the candy, she let out a dramatic sigh. "Of course I wouldn't want _kids_ with him." What she wanted naturally came before and no one needed to know.

"What would it be then?" Toritsuka's face appeared between her and Haruko.

"Picture this" her cheeks were burning, as he took the sweets away. "Hideki-chan trapped in a dark alley… Nothing but a baseball bat for protection, the dead closing in. So there he stands, laying blow after blow, seeing there is way too many of them. He lists the good things he remembers to leave this world in peace…" the important part was to keep the story spinning.

"And then?" Kento shared the candy with Isobe, unaware he was losing the high ground by the minute.

"A girl appears. She holds a katana and a pistol and she takes them out one by one. He kneels in front of her, the sleeves of his shirt ripped off, his hair covered in blood. And seeing her leave he says: Stop! I want to know your name! I want to know _you_!" She wasn't lying in this part.

"And then?" Taiki leaned in from the back seat, waiting for the events to unravel.

"I would say" Sayu put both of her hands on her heart. "Thanks for the offer Ryuga-san, but you are not my type." Toritsuka's face became a color of a ripe beetroot.

"Isn't it what you heard, Kento-kun?" Haruko giggled.

"You're a bad person, Sayu" Isobe was amused, but tried to take a stand in the name of male solidarity.

Toritsuka didn't say a word until the end of the journey.

The forest landscape changed into a windy mountain road, the drive slow out of necessity. Such passageways could turn out to be blocked with fallen trees, or abandoned property, not to mention occasional absence of roadside barriers. A fluffy carpet of the woods covered the slopes.

There were clearings among the trees. Sayu strained her eyes to look for humanoid silhouettes wandering around. They sometimes swarmed at night, moving in mysterious patterns.

After roughly two hours of driving, they stopped and hid the car in high bushes to cover the rest of the road on foot. Signposts and little lanterns were placed on the side of the path. Haruko summoned them with a conspiratorial gesture, reaching into her pocket. "Alright, now listen. We are here to make a trade." Something glistened, as she opened her hand.

The object was a primitive coin with a kanji scratched sloppily on the surface. _Kami. _A god.

"Before…" her voice trembled, but she clenched her fist and it returned to normal. "Before Toshi left… He gave it to me. He said… I can exchange it for a journey to a safe place. And I just... forgot. I didn't know he wouldn't return. But I need to try it" her voice waned and she resumed walking.

An air of helplessness surrounded her and Sayu understood it well. Haruko and Toshi were birds of a feather, inseparable until last week. Either something bad had happened, or he had been keeping secrets. Both possibilities could be devastating.

"Don't you think something happened to your dad because of this?" Isobe walked right up to her, trying to put an arm around her back, but to no avail. Haruko stopped again. Every trace of vulnerability disappeared from her face.

"No. They're both alive. Understood? Whatever people say is lies!" they nodded indecisively. It didn't seem enough.

"Sayu-chan" Haruko's expression remained fierce, but her tone was now pleading. "Can you take it and ask around? You're older than me. You will be more incos… Inco… Inconspicuous." Sayu agreed. None of them could let her down at this point.

"I will go first with Kento-kun" Haruko put her gun in the holster. "We will draw the attention of people looking to pick a fight with younglings. Sayu will come after us and Isobe will keep at distance and warn us if there's trouble." No one dared to question her words.

She didn't expect the Market to be such an explosion of colors, a long alley with neon lights placed over most stalls. They cast a surreal glow upon the narrow passage, the crowd moving incessantly through it. Everything smelled with hot food, booze and gunpowder.

Sayu realized that she was on her own, with only Isobe possibly observing her from afar. She clenched her hand on a suspicious coin, its sharp edges rubbing against the skin. It was time to start looking.

"I don't accept these" the man with spiky hair and a tattoo covering his neck shook his head. "The metal is worthless".

"Take me to a safe place?" almost took out the coin, but the second shop owner waved her aside. "Not into teens, girl."

The third one was a woman, not paying attention to Sayu at first. When she turned around, the girl was surprised by the web of wrinkles, in strong contrast to her lanky body and long ponytails. The display on her stall was promising – maps and documents made her hope she had knowledge about the region.

"How old are you, love?" Sayu opened her hand and the woman suddenly seemed concerned.

"I'm old enough!" Sayu straightened her posture to seem taller.

"Okay, look, it's not like this… I know what you went through" she spoke calmly. She brought her face closer. "You should know it's only the first part of the price." Something was wrong. An amicable response threw her off-track. Before Sayu could think, she burst with:

"Oh… I'm asking for a friend." A disaster. So much for being a spy.

"And your friend is where?" her voice changed and Sayu realized she was losing her trust.

"Wait here. I'll bring her around. You will tell her." There was a sting of shame, she knew suspicious babbling when she spoke it. But if only she found Haru, maybe the woman would talk to them.

On her way back, she began to feel uneasy. This crowd already managed to give her the creeps. Apparently, the majority of passers-by covered their faces. She stood out.

A moment later, her eyes unwittingly met the sight of a person across the street who seemed to be browsing through guns. They turned back slowly, as if to avoid suspicion. A black mask concealed the lower half of their face. Were they looking at her or not? Her heart began to pound at the possibility. _Adrenaline makes you think more clearly, but only if you keep on breathing_, Toshi's voice sounded in her head. She inhaled sharply.

After a minute, the stalking became a certainty. She looked into a mirror on the side of the street – the pursuer pretended to be interested in the sukiyaki stall, still following. Another shot at steady breathing failed. She entered a tiny bar on her right, immediately placing herself on the floor next to a window, invisible from the outside. Darkness and loud music worked in her favor, but it was too late for hiding in the crowd. She looked out. The stalker's hood and mask covered much, but she could swear their eyes were unnaturally dark, even in the neon light. As he entered, the time almost stopped and she made up her mind.

The door opened. Sayu leapt forward and pulled as firmly as she could, ripping off the mask.

He was young, not much older than Light. The hood slipped down, exposing his flustered expression, or maybe it was because of the eyes, unnaturally round. For a second, they examined each other, keeping their distance until he grabbed her by the waist. Sayu reacted instinctively.

The slap made her hand burn. He rose slender fingers to his cheek, as red marks began to blossom on the pale skin.

"I... suppose this was well-deserved" it was a statement of fact, unapologetic. His voice showed polite reserve.

He turned away and left Sayu standing in shock.

After a while, Taiki caught up to her, out of breath. "Let's run, Yagami. It's bad, someone got shot."

Sayu reached into her pocket and her blood froze. "Taiki, wait! I don't have it! Damn! He took it!"

"Who took what?" Isobe took her by the hand, leading the way through the crowd.

"I lost the coin! I have to go back" she pulled away and ran.

He followed her, barely keeping up. They pushed through the crowd gathering around the woman with ponytails who was lying on the ground, motionless. Sayu felt yet another sting of guilt.

"He's coming here, quickly!" they cut through the alley exit to make it first, running in the direction of cars parked between the buildings. Sayu crawled inside a truck closest to them, finding a comfortable spot around the wooden boxes filling the trailer.

"Shhh now, we'll take him by surprise!" Her companion followed hesitantly.

It was him, once again. Exhilarated, Sayu started creeping towards the front of the trailer as the truck suddenly set off. Falling down, she felt the splinters from the ground cutting into her skin. The vehicle went fast, too fast to jump.

They sat there helplessly, the familiar view disappearing from their eyes.

* * *

**This _will _be notoriously slow to update (3-4 weeks), because I learned that editing the chapters into a satisfactory form require them to rest a bit. I apologise about posting unedited work before, I guess that's just another beginner problem.**

**Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my work and of course I'll appreciate every word of feedback, since I want to improve _badly_. Seriously.**


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